Make You Happy
by these-dreams-go-on
Summary: In the new matriarchal system of America, Klaus finds himself serving Caroline Forbes. The Vampire Diaries/ The Handmaid's Tale fusion Klaroline/Kalijah.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- So this is another one of my one-shots that was popular during AU Week and people requested become a story.

It is a gender-role reversal of Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale and slight re-imagining.

Disclaimer- I own nothing associated with The Vampire Diaries or The Originals

* * *

Caroline could almost feel Katherine's excitement bleeding from the bricks of her white-washed home as she pulled into the circular driveway.

But surprisingly, it's not Katherine who comes out to welcome her but her brood-spouse Elijah.

"Hello Ms Caroline," he greets warmly, "Shall I take your bags?"

It's on the tip of Caroline's tongue to remind Elijah that brood-spouses were above servants but she decides that it isn't her place and Katherine would be quick enough to point this out if the fancy took her.

Instead she thanked him and led him into the house, where an actual servant was waiting to take her bag,

"Ms Katherine is in the sun room." He prompts gently and she goes through the mansion to the sun room, facing the east garden and designed to catch the afternoon sun.

Katherine is spread out indolently on the white couch, wearing a black empress waistline dress with her hand resting on her- as yet non-existent- baby bump.

" _Finally_!" she announces, holding out her hands for Caroline to cross the room and sit down at her knees, reaching over to kiss her cheeks,

"I've been waiting all day for you to get here, you haven't left nearly enough time."

Caroline sighs and shrugs, "We can always go tomorrow, there's no hurry."

Katherine rolls her eyes, "No. I want to go today, I'm in the mood to window shop."

Caroline looks over her shoulder to where Elijah is standing in the doorway, patiently awaiting instruction and she wonders what will happen when the Safety and Wellness Inspector comes.

As a rule, brood-spouses were to keep to their rooms unless they were servicing their mistresses, but Elijah always seemed to be wandering around the house.

He was also overdue to be returned to the Factory but Katherine hadn't sent him back.

"You come along too," Katherine orders as she sweeps past Elijah who noticeably pales at the instruction.

"Shall I pack my belongings…dearest?"

"No, no," she waved her hand, "But there might be some options to have you improved or checked out for re-education while we're there."

He looked positively faint with relief and Caroline felt sympathy for the man. Whilst she wasn't outright opposed to the owning of men in the matriarchy, as her friend Bonnie was. She did occasionally pity them. It couldn't be easy to have their entire lives dependent on the whim of women.

* * *

The Factory was a large compound in the center of town, where all males were sent when they turned ten to be assigned into life categories of worker or spouse.

The workers were the lowest caste of male, infertile, castrated and otherwise useless to women, and performed the hard, laborious duties of construction and the like.

The spouses were the males who were fertile, genetically healthy, and handsome they were trained to be pleasure-spouses- concubines for women, and then could be upgraded to brood-spouses for breeding or, if they were quite successful and underwent extensive training, they could become life-spouses. A life-spouse was the closest a male could come to freedom in the matriarchy, he would live with his female owner for up to seven years before being traded in for a younger model.

Caroline, after weeks of decision and far too much gossip from her colleagues wondering why a healthy, heterosexual female wasn't engaging in regular sex, had decided to purchase a pleasure-spouse.

And as per regulation, a woman who owned a male had to live with another female so as to prevent the male in any way gaining the upper hand or being seen as an equal by the woman.

So, on the same day that she'd moved in with her best friend Katherine, Caroline was at the Factory, being led into the Spouse Hall, a long hall lined with one-way windows so that they could observe the males in their habitats.

"Oooh," Katherine stopped to admire a tall, olive skinned brunette, "How about that one?"

Caroline brought up the information of the man on the screen, "No, it says his hobby was boxing." She strides right past him as Katherine stares at the screen in disbelief,

"I didn't even know that men could be trained to fight anymore." She turns to Elijah with a suspicious glare,

"Were _you_ trained to fight?"

He shakes his head mirthfully, "I decided to study medicine," he reminded her,

"Much more useful."

The male spouses were allowed to pursue further education as women preferred their males intelligent, not that these males would ever be allowed to have careers, but it gave the sexes something to discuss outside of the bedroom.

Caroline moved slowly past the windows, trying to figure out what it was she wanted as Katherine observed the newest batch of males and the upgrades available.

"Oh, this sounds like fun!" she called out, catching Caroline's attention.

"The latest batch of males have an additional setting on their controls, the arousal setting, you can adjust it as per your desires."

She glances at the control embedded in Elijah's wrist, "We should get that for you." She decides,

"Go see the upgrade facility after Caroline's made her choice and meet us at the car."

He bows his head, "An arousal setting is rather redundant when I'm with you dearest, but as you wish."

Katherine links her arm through Caroline's, "What do you want in a pleasure-spouse?" she asks,

"I'm guessing attractive and charming but what else?"

Caroline shrugged, "I have no idea…I've thought about it, obviously, but all that comes to mind is kind and sweet but they'd probably all come like that."

"Might I speak, dearest?" Elijah asks quietly and looking to Caroline for approval, Katherine shrugs, "Go ahead?"

"Perhaps Ms Caroline would prefer a male who is artistic like herself? One of similar age and appearance?" He looks through the windows, moving fluidly until he comes to a stop and tries to bring up an information screen, the window flashing red momentarily as it reads his fingerprints and identifies him as male.

Caroline joins him, brings up the screen and sees into the room on the other side of the glass.

The male is about average height but blonde haired, blue eyed and with a healthy tan, he is slumped over in his chair with a sketchbook in his lap, the pencil flying over the page and Caroline sees that the wall behind him is covered with artwork.

"Niklaus" she reads his information on the screen, "Twenty-five. Trained as a painter. Healthy. Physically Active. Empathetic. Good-humoured. Intelligent. Rated Excellent in Sexual skills. Currently sterilized but available for breeding"

As if he can sense their eyes on him, Niklaus looks up and Caroline notes how blue and piercing his eyes are and his hair is a mess of curls she can imagine running her hands through.

"Maybe we should keep looking just in case?" she suggests but Katherine shakes her head,

"Nope, I made that mistake once and I nearly lost Elijah here to some freaking hippy whore," she presses the 'Purchase' button on the screen,

"You change your mind, you can just return him later."

* * *

Males were delivered once a week, so it was two days after purchasing him that Niklaus was delivered to Katherine and Caroline's home, arriving whilst they were out, they returned to find him waiting with his handler, a no-nonsense young woman with long blonde hair,

"Okay…sign here, here, and here, and initial here to say you received him in perfect, working condition," she told Caroline, handing her a sheaf of papers,

"Strip," she ordered Niklaus, "So we can ascertain that you are in top condition."

The male glances at Elijah momentarily before quickly undressing, removing the white shirt and pants combination that all spouses were delivered in until he stood before them perfectly naked.

"Very nice," Katherine announces, flopping down into the arm chair,

"I'd be happy to give him a test run for you, Care."

Caroline blushes but the handler doesn't even blink,

"Here's the key to his controls, the black button is for obedience, if he acts in a way you don't like, this will administer electric shocks in increasing frequency until he loses consciousness, but we advise against doing that too often in case it leads to brain damage, the green button summons him, the red button is the arousal button, it starts at one- mildly aroused and goes to ten- extremely aroused, we suggest you use that only in the privacy of your home, it can lead to a male becoming quite excited."

Katherine had been playing with that setting on Elijah's controls for the last two nights and her orgasmic screaming had woken Caroline several times.

She places a large booklet on the table, "That contains everything you need to know about owning a pleasure-spouse, what acts they're allowed to perform, the rules they have to follow, the possible upgrades, also we suggest strongly that you engage in sister-wife activities on a regular basis now that you have two males in the house."

Caroline took in all this information while noticing that her pleasure-spouse was still completely naked,

"Thank-you," she told the handler, suddenly wanting the cold woman to leave.

"Of course," the woman checked her watch as she turned on her heel,

"Oh also, if you do wish to harm or disfigure your pleasure-spouse we do require that anything permanent be paid for."

Caroline winces but thanks the woman again and shows her the door before re-entering the living room,

"Um…you can get dressed now." She tells Niklaus who quickly reaches for his clothes, throwing them back on with a clear sense of relief.

"Perhaps I could show him to his room, Ms Caroline?" Elijah offers and she nods, waving them both from the room before sinking down onto the chair opposite Katherine,

"So…" she began nervously, "Tonight…what do I do?"

Katherine rolled her eyes, "Well, my apparently _virgin_ friend, you get on your knees and pray for guidance…or just relax and know that the male whose entire career is based on making you scream with pleasure will know what he's doing."

* * *

Males weren't allowed to share bedrooms with their female owners, instead they were sequestered in guest rooms on the same floor but as far away as possible. So when Caroline summons Niklaus that night it's a full five minutes before he knocks quietly on her bedroom door.

"Come in." she calls nervously, brushing down her black silk nightgown.

Niklaus is wearing the red robe of the male concubines, the one that with one tug of the belt is loosened entirely.

"Good evening, Ms Caroline." he says politely, tilting his head and she gives him a tight smile,

"Hello…have you settled in okay?" she asks and he nods,

"Ms Katherine's brood-spouse has been quite helpful."

Males weren't allowed to address each other by anything but their positions, originally they'd called each other brother but it had been decided that the term encouraged too much comradery amongst the men and would lead to disobedience.

"Good," she clears her throat, before turning and gesturing to the Empress sized bed,

"Let's get started shall we?"

She takes a step before a thought strikes her and she spins back to him,

"Do you…uh…do you need something?" she asks awkwardly, "I know you aren't allowed alcohol but do you want me to adjust your arousal settings or something?"

He shakes his head slightly, a small smile on his lips, "Thank-you, but that won't be necessary."

He approaches her slowly, keeping his hands at his sides until he is within the allowed three step radius,

"Do I have your consent to initiate sexual intercourse with you?" he asks but when she nods, he hesitates,

"I need your verbal and enthusiastic consent." he clarifies, "Otherwise I'm forbidden from continuing."

She rolls her eyes self-depreciatingly, "Oh right, sorry…yes, I consent, enthusiastically."

Carefully, he reaches over and places his hands on her arms, moving closer and lowering his head, pressing his lips to her cheek, barely brushing her skin before touching the corner of her lips. Feeling more comfortable now, she turns her face and offers him her lips with a slow, exploratory kiss.

Her body tingles with excitement and she slips her tongue into his mouth as she lifts her hands to cup his jaw, positioning him to her advantage before pushing herself up against him, pressing her breasts against the hard planes of his chest. When she breaks the kiss for air, she licks her lips and smiles, much more relaxed now, especially when she sees the brightness of her concubines eyes as they roam over her body.

Arousal is beginning to flush her skin and she reaches for the belt of his robe, pulling it loose with ease and letting it drop to the floor. He stands before her in naked glory and she grins in satisfaction at his hardening penis, stripping her own robe as she sashays towards the bed and sinks down in the center, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Come on." She beckons and he approaches eagerly, climbing onto the bed and crouching over her, kissing her on the lips once more before his lips trail down to her breasts, licking and sucking them until she is wet with arousal and rubbing herself against him.

She runs her fingers through his curls and holds him against her left breast until his hand begins trailing up her thigh,

"Oh, yes," Caroline sighs, pushing him down to her stomach, "Do that."

He kisses her clit before running his tongue over it and delving between her folds, causing her to moan in delight and arch her hips off the bed. With one hand he holds her in place while sliding a finger inside her vagina, testing her arousal before slipping in another one and beginning to stroke her.

Her eyes flutter closed as his tongue laves her clit as his fingers find her g-spot, curling and pressing there until she beings trembling and panting, murmuring encouragements as she writhes against him, gripping the sheets underneath them tightly as she climaxes with a wordless shout.

He goes to lift his head but she slips her fingers through his hair and holds him in place between her thighs, "Again…" she orders breathlessly.

After her third climax, she opens her eyes and considers his erect penis, taking in the size and thickness before coming to a decision. The pleasure-spouse manual discouraged full sexual intercourse for the first two weeks and suggested that no male pleasure be allowed for the first month.

But he had done so well.

She spreads her legs and smiles, "I want you inside me." She orders and she can see him hesitate, because he knows the rules by heart, but she is his mistress so she ultimately has the final say in the house.

He kneels between her thighs and glances nervously at her for final confirmation before he takes himself in hand and guides himself to her entrance, pushing in gently as she hooks her legs around his hips,

"How would you like me to perform, Ms Caroline?" he asks, shaking from the act of holding himself still and she considers,

"Slowly and call me something besides Ms Caroline."

He nods, "Yes, sweetheart."

He withdraws as far back as she'll let him before sliding back in and Caroline takes his free hand and puts it on her clit while her own hands play with her breasts. She watches as his body glistens with sweat, his muscles dancing under his skin as he moves inside her, working towards her pleasure.

Katherine had been right, she admits to herself as she orgasms.

She'd been so _stupid_ to put off having a concubine.

Caroline releases her legs and lets Niklaus withdraw from her, her juices glistening on his still erect penis. Feeling boneless and high on pleasure, she smiles and waves her hand lazily,

"You can go back to your room now," she tells him kindly,

"And you have my permission to use the bathroom down the hall for… _that_." She gestures to his penis and he nods gratefully,

"Thank-you, sweetheart?" he tests the endearment and, feeling generous, she nods, "Goodnight." He continues as she rolls over and slips beneath the blankets,

"Good night."

* * *

A/N- Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- I own nothing associated with The Handmaid's Tale either.

* * *

 _Excerpt from the Morning Instruction to the Factory Young Males.  
_

There was a time when men ruled the world.

They were our leaders and our philosophers, our priests and our doctors.

They held every position of authority.

And they abused it.

They caused wars, famines, plagues and let diseases and horrors run rampant.

Which is why we, women, took it away from them.

After the Terrible Event befell our land, the Republic of Harmony was established by good, righteous women and, in time, when they were shown that they were repentant, men asked for the privilege to serve women, as they were born to do.

This is why workmen and spouses exist today.

To serve women.

* * *

Niklaus had known.

He had always known.

When he was ten years old, he would be taken away.

As Finn had been. As Elijah had been. As Kol would be and Henrik too, even though he was only a baby and had so many years left.

But it was the law.

At the age of ten, all male children were to be removed from their families and taken to the Factory, where they would be assigned into two categories.

Workmen- those who performed menial, hard-labour tasks, in factories and mines until they died at thirty- _if_ they were lucky.

Or the spouses- those who performed for the women.

Niklaus had been told, even before the selection process that with his blonde hair and blue eyes, he was a shoo in to be a spouse.

And he was selected and told that he was lucky.

He would be raised in the Factory until he was eighteen, at which point he would be placed on the market, for purchase by women.

His job would be to please them; in any way they saw fit but especially sexually.

In return, he would have food and board and never have to work in the mines or factories.

He was _lucky_.

Every day when he was woken up at six and made to exercise with his peers before eating meals designed for nutrition and health rather than taste, when he spent hours undergoing 'education' and having his every waking moment monitored by the Trainers- harsh women who smacked him if they thought he was growing lazy- he was told he was lucky.

When he was sixteen, he was ordered to find an interest and found joy in art, he then had an extra three hours a day lost to 'hobby training' so that he would be even more appealing to the women who would own him.

At seventeen he underwent 'passion training', a woman named Genevieve came to his room every afternoon between cooking lessons and before hobby training, to teach him how to pleasure a woman.

He was told that if he was very skilled at passion, that he might even graduate from pleasure-spouse to brood spouse and then, if he developed a good reputation amongst the women, he might even become a life spouse!

A life spouse meant that he would spend seven years with the same woman, that he would be allowed to go outside without her permission and even, perhaps, be allowed to find out what had become of his family.

Except that he's not supposed to think of it that way.

He's supposed to think of the honour of being a life-spouse, of wearing the gold ring and being a role model to the other male concubines.

That glory is what he's supposed to fixate on when Genevieve dig her nails into his scalp and forces him to his knees.

He's so lucky already and has the chance to be even luckier!

He wants to die.

* * *

The house is cast into darkness and Niklaus likes it that way.

Nobody can see him in the darkness, easing his way down the hall, his red robe barely tied around him, his lips stained with her juices and his treacherous penis still erect.

'You can use the bathroom to take care of that' she had told him, before rolling over and falling asleep.

How _generous_ of her.

He was expected to pleasure her any time she wished, in any way she wished, but he was supposed to be grateful that she'd let him finish in a bathroom instead of ignoring the issue completely.

Then again, at least she was kind, after all, for her nothing was off the table sexually or physically provided she was willing to pay for any permanent damage she did to him.

And instead she let him use the hallway bathroom, the same bathroom that the rest of the house would use instead of the tiny one in the male quarters.

How _privileged_ he was.

He steps into the bathroom, the tiles cold against his feet and flicks on the light for only a second, long enough to see where the shower was and then throw the room back into darkness.

He doesn't want to run the risk of seeing himself like this.

Hot water is a luxury.

Not because he had ever been denied it, but because it's one of the only things he is allowed that hasn't been regulated past the point of finding any pleasure in the experience.

So he waits until the temperature is just short of unbearable and steps under the spray, bowing his head and feeling his muscles relax as the water scalds his skin.

The heat makes him light headed and it's only then that he can bare to touch himself. To put his hand on his penis and stroke himself to release.

His mind is blank as he masturbates.

He has nothing to fantasize about.

Except perhaps a freedom he will never know.

He can't shower for too long, otherwise he risks waking up the house and being punished for having done so. He allows himself five minutes before he steps out and takes a deep breath before turning on the bathroom light.

His haunted eyes stare back at him in reluctant wonder.

When was the last time he'd looked into a glass mirror?

The concubines were only allowed plexiglass in case they became suicidal.

He's scrubbed and scoured every last trace of her from his body but he swears that he can still see her fingerprints on his cheeks, his shoulders, his chest.

So he isn't clean.

He isn't dry either.

There are towels hanging on the heated racks but they're rose and lavender coloured, presumably neither are available for him.

He picks up his red robe gingerly and checks it for stains before wrapping it around himself and letting the silk soak up as much as the water as possible.

Flick.

The light is off and he's in merciful darkness once more.

* * *

His room is standard regulation concubine quarters.

Bed. Chest of drawers. Window that doesn't open. Chair and small table for eating meals.

White wallpaper. White carpet. White bedding.

His blood would make such a _beautiful_ contrast.

There's a quiet scratching on his door and then a man slips into the room, reeking of sex and in a red robe that has a torn sleeve.

He shuts the door as quietly as possible before turning to face him, "Do you know me?" he asks breathlessly and Niklaus barely manages to nod,

"Big brother." He sighs and Elijah opens his arms and pulls him into a rib cracking hug,

"My brother, I've found you."

"Finn?" Niklaus asks curiously, struggling to breathe in his brother's embrace but relishing the struggle. Elijah shakes his head,

"He was removed from spouse training for being too obstinate and sent…to the mines."

He was dead then.

"Kol?" Niklaus tries again, before remembering that Kol was three years younger than him.

He wouldn't be out of training yet.

"What about…" he pulls away and his smile is like cracked glass, "I suppose she's well."

She, being his half-sister.

Rebekah.

Women had always pitied Esther her brood of sons. After she'd had two, she'd traded in her brood-spouse Mikael for Ansel- Niklaus' father- then when she'd had another son, she'd got rid of him in her frustration and gone back to Mikael, accepting that she was cursed in childbirth.

She had been so happy when she'd finally had a daughter.

A child who wouldn't be enslaved.

Rebekah had been beautiful and such a sweet baby, all her brothers had adored her and they'd played together until she had become old enough for kindergarten.

Three days before she was due to start, Esther had explained to her that she wasn't to play with her brothers anymore, that she was better than them and she could never forget that they were her inferiors.

It would have been an act of rebellion for her to love them or for them to love her.

So Niklaus had loved her with all his heart until the day he was sent away.

And he had seen the pain in Mikael's eyes when the Factory workers had come for him.

At thirty-nine, he was too old to continue being a brood-spouse and Esther had traded him in for a twenty-year old named Tristan.

It was the only time that Niklaus saw tears in Mikael's eyes but it had been enough for him to swear that he would never become a brood-spouse.

He would kill himself first.

He had already planned how he would do it.

He would jam a paintbrush into his neck and bleed out.

Better to die than to be used to procreate, to bring more women into the world to be slave-owners, or worse, a boy to be enslaved.

Elijah reluctantly releases him, "I can't stay long," he sighs, "Katherine will be needing me soon, but I wanted to tell you, this is a good house, I know Caroline, she's a kind woman so you must do whatever is necessary to stay as long as possible. And…we must both do whatever is necessary to stay as long as possible, together, Always and Forever."

Niklaus clapped his brother on the shoulder. They'd be lucky to spend a year together.

"Always and Forever." He lies, while stretching his lips into the bland, brainless smile he'd perfected for the trainers at the Factory.

A buzz stuns them both and they look down to their wristbands, Elijah's flashing green.

"I have to go," he draws himself up and fiddles with the torn sleeve of his robe, "I shall bring you breakfast in the morning…but…"

The wristband flashes again, three times in succession and his brother races from the room, moving swiftly but silently as concubines has been trained to do.

Only elephants were allowed to stomp.

Niklaus lifts his foot up and imagines bringing it down hard against the carpeted floor, or perhaps even jumping up into the air.

He would make a sound.

He would be heard.

And for one second, he would exist outside of this body that didn't even belong to him.

But he couldn't do that.

He would get in trouble.

He would be punished.

And worse still, he would be taken away from his brother.

So instead, he performs the only rebellion allowed to him.

He removes his robe, climbs into the bed, lies on his stomach, buries his face in the pillow,

And screams.

* * *

A/N- Yeah, this got pretty dark pretty damn quickly, but I never could stand the master-slave fanfics where everything was happy-go-lucky and angst free.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Hi everyone. I know it's been a while but I've been playing the fun game of swap countries of residence again and I'm working on my MA.

* * *

 _Six am_.

Niklaus opened his eyes and sat up quickly, folding back the bed sheet neatly and swinging his legs to the floor, putting his feet on the wood and resting his hands on his knees. When he is facing the door, he smiles.

Males must always smile.

They were so much _prettier_ when they smiled.

Nobody liked surly males, they were _ugly_.

When a trainer fails to arrive, he remembers where he is.

There would be no more six am exercise and there were no cameras in his room.

He didn't have wait patiently, smiling for the trainer who would come to collect him for morning exercise, who would make him stand on scales and examine the skin under his eyes for discoloration or wrinkles.

He didn't have to smile.

It is physically hard to force his lips down into a straight line, he is so used to smiling at this hour that he can't remember how to move the muscles on his face and has to massage his cheeks with his fingers until he can work the smile away.

When he's done, he hears the faintest footfall outside and panics, thinking that he was wrong, that Caroline had come to wake him up.

The smile comes back to his face all too easily, his moment of freedom gone but when the door opens, it is Elijah on the other side.

"Brother," he whispers, crossing the room with the wood offering only the merest creaks of protest, he must have excelled at his silent walking training,

"Come, Katherine gave me permission to wake you and settle you in."

Niklaus has a moment of confusion, still so startled to see his brother instead of a trainer with their twitchy finger hovering above the remote that would administer shocks to the system of any male within distance.

Elijah reaches down to take his hand and Niklaus draws it away quickly, off his knee to his thigh,

"Pleasure-spouses aren't allowed to leave their quarters without their owner's permission," he recites dutifully, "If Caroline finds out, she'll have grounds to punish me."

His brother firmly takes his hands, "She won't," he assures him, his voice barely audible, his lips only just moving, "Niklaus, Caroline is a kind woman. It shall be alright."

No, it shan't be.

Elijah is _wrong_.

He _must_ be wrong.

Still, even though he is reluctant, Niklaus lets himself be drawn from the room and down the stairs, into the pristine white kitchen with the cold tiles where he is seated at the island and Elijah sits down beside him.

"Katherine usually rises late," he explains and Niklaus wishes that his whisper was even quieter so as not to disturb the serenity of the sterile white room.

"I suspect Caroline shall rise late as well," he continues, "They both work for the same show, Caroline is a producer and Katherine is a presenter."

Niklaus files this piece of information away to be used later. Pleasure-spouses weren't allowed to watch televisions but he could ask her questions and pretend he cared about her work day.

There is a clock on the far corner wall, an old analog clock and both of them watch the three hands move with interest, marking the time in their lives until the minute hand touches the hour and Elijah smoothly rises, crossing the room to the coffee maker, pressing the buttons and loading the beans with obvious experience.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Niklaus asks, the wonder in his voice drowning out the doubt and concern, Elijah nods,

"Katherine likes the coffee to be ready when she comes downstairs and the housewife doesn't get here until after she has left for work."

The housewife.

Niklaus had heard that this was a term that dated back to before, that it had been reclaimed by the matriarchy.

Housewives were those who cleaned and maintained homes while their owners were at work.

Niklaus closes his eyes and enjoys the scent of the coffee, pleasure-spouses weren't allowed to consume coffee but there was no law against smelling the ground beans and letting it permeate his senses.

 _Yet_.

He hears a loud yawn and starts, gripping the underside of the island bench, pushing himself into a standing position just in time for Ms. Pierce to enter the room. She ignores him and walks straight over to Elijah, "Is that decaf?" she demands and he smiles placatingly,

"Of course, my dearest," he murmurs lovingly, holding her a purple cup perched atop a plate,

"Shall I make breakfast?"

He thought that he was allowed to handle food?!

Niklaus' shoulders tense, expecting the blow to his brother but it never comes, instead Ms. Pierce makes a face and turns away, leaning on the island bench,

"I don't feel hungry." she grumbles, rubbing her stomach, a good thirty centimeters above where the child would actually be growing.

Even though pleasure-spouses were kept infertile, they were still trained extensively on pregnancy so in the event that they were upgraded to brood-spouses, they would require less time on education.

Behind her, Elijah trembles nervously and Niklaus shakes his head slightly, implores him not to speak but his prayers go unanswered,

"You should eat," he entreats, "Perhaps a fruit salad?"

Concubines were forbidden from second-guessing their mistresses or speaking in any way that could be misconstrued as an instruction.

What had he _done_?!

Niklaus grips the underside of the island even harder, wishing he could close his eyes against the scene that would inevitably follow but even that is against the rules.

"Think I'll take a shower," Katherine sighs, "See how I feel after that."

She pads out of the room and up the stairs and spots dance before his eyes before he even realizes that he had stopped breathing.

What had just _happened_?

What kind of house was this?!

Elijah reaches across the kitchen island, "Niklaus, all is…"

The control in his wrist flashes and he gasps as the arousal setting is adjusted, he clears his throat,

"I shall speak to you later." He manages, before gliding from the room, his red robe fluttering behind him.

* * *

Niklaus watches him go with apathy before realizing that he didn't know what he was supposed to do next. For the first time in nearly a decade he was without instructions, without orders.

Yet if any move he took was the 'wrong' one, the punishment would be severe, he could even be sent away and would never see his brother again.

So, what should he do?

The ticking of the old clock is a source of comfort, he turns to watch it, the second hand almost hypnotizing as it shudders along. Barely noticed but still existing.

Just like him.

When it reaches the five, it chimes and the sound is so unexpected, so out of place that a small giggle escapes his mouth before he can even think to stop it.

"Huh, that's weird."

The voice turns his blood cold and the terror makes his back rigid but he's been trained too well so he turns smoothly to his new owner, the bland, placid smile on his face,

"Good morning, m-sweetheart," he says in the tone he'd perfected in the Factory,

"I hope you slept well."

She doesn't immediately answer, keeping her gaze on the clock, "Must be broken," she decides, shrugging as if it is inconsequential before heading over to the coffee machine and taking the second cup of coffee, "Is this mine?" she asks and he has a moment of bewilderment.

Males weren't allowed stimulants of any kind- whom else would be permitted coffee in the house?

"I believe so," he murmurs, glancing down and realizing that he was still holding onto to the island, he releases it and holds his hands in front of him in the approved stance,

"Is there anything I can do for you, sweetheart?"

She sips at the coffee and purses her lips in thought, "I don't think so," she trails off,

"I'll just grab my breakfast…oh," she is halfway to the fridge before she turns back around,

"Have you eaten?"

No.

And he is hungry, but the hunger pangs in his stomach are unfamiliar to him and he relishes the pain that is caused by his own body, not by the sadistic nature of the trainers,

"I will eat with Ms. Katherine's brood-spouse." he tells her, careful to keep his voice light lest he be perceived as condescending.

"Right," she smiles, "Sorry, I didn't exactly read the manual," she explains as she opens the fridge and takes out a small package, "So…your food is…?"

What?

His food is _what_?

He tilts his head slightly, a pose deemed acceptable by the trainers to express a male's confusion.

"I'm afraid I don't understand the question." he offers when the silence has drawn out between them and Caroline bites her lip, "Right."

She looks up to the stairs, "Katherine?" she shouts, "Are you up?"

He jumps at the loud noise but covers the moment by fixing his passive smile back on his face when she turns back to him,

"She'll know what to do." She tells him and he nods not because he has any more understanding of what was happening but because it was expected of him.

When Katherine comes down, she is wearing a smirk and Elijah follows on her heels, his hair wet from the shower and she pats his behind as she saunters into the kitchen,

" _Now_ , I'm hungry," She announces, heading to the fruit bowl and taking an apple,

"What's up, Forbes?"

Caroline gestures to Niklaus and Elijah, "Um…they haven't eaten this morning."

Katherine rolls her eyes, "Right, you actually have to tell your concubine that he's allowed to eat. Give him permission now or he'll be asking you every day," She takes a bite of her apple,

"Elena was the worst like that, she kept forgetting to tell her males to eat and they kept going without meals until she remembered."

She points to the fridge, "Elijah, make Nicholas the same breakfast you have, Caroline give him permission to eat what Elijah feeds him."

"Oh," Caroline stutters, "Uh, eat whatever Elijah feeds you."

He bows his head, "Of course, sweetheart."

Niklaus nods but is still feeling confused, breakfast for the concubines was one boiled egg, one slice of toast and one slice of butter. It came pre-packaged every two days and should have been kept in the kitchen fridge with their names labelled on the foil.

Yet, when Elijah hands him a plate ten minutes later, he sees not only the permitted breakfast but pastry and fruits that he has never been allowed to eat before,

"What is this?" he asks under his breath, not wanting to alert the women who are hurrying about getting ready,

"It's what Katherine allows me to eat," Elijah murmurs, "It is alright, Niklaus, it is good food."

Good food that contained more calories than they were allowed to consume.

He wonders if it's a trick, a trap of some kind but surely Elijah wouldn't do that to him without warning of some kind.

And as he watches, he sees his brother eat from his own plate, saving the pastry to last and clearly savoring it. Niklaus makes sure to only eat what Elijah eats, in case Caroline changes her mind.

The women leave at eight, Niklaus walks Caroline to the front door as he had been trained to do,

"Have a lovely day at work, sweetheart," he says, using the approved message and kisses her cheek,

"Thanks," she says, looking down with a blush on her cheek, "Are you coming Kath…oh my god, _seriously_?!"

Katherine has Elijah pressed up against the wall and is kissing him in a way that concubines aren't really allowed to engage in outside of the bedroom. She breaks away and snaps her teeth at his neck, "What?" she asks with faux innocence, "I'm going to miss his body when I'm at work today."

Elijah is blushing and pulls at the cuffs of his red robe, "Goodbye, dearest."

Katherine winks at Niklaus and sashays out the door, Caroline on her heels.

* * *

Niklaus wanders back into the kitchen and looks up at the clock, chuckling when it chimes at five past the hour again,

"What do we do now?" he asks, feeling close to content as he turns to his brother, only to see that Elijah's face has fallen,

"Now, we clean up quickly and go straight upstairs." He orders him, grabbing their plates and rushing to the sink, scraping the crumbs into the bin and placing both into the dishwasher,

"Hurry," he snaps, taking the stairs two at a time and Niklaus finds the sharp contrast between the privileges they were allowed this morning and the terror in his brother's eyes jarring.

"What is happening?" he asks, as they move silently but quickly down the hall to their rooms,

"Katherine's housewife, Anna, she's _devout,_ " Elijah whispers the word with as much disgust as he can muster,

"If we're downstairs when she arrives, or if she suspects that we've made a mess…"

He doesn't finish but he doesn't need to, Niklaus had encountered the women the males called devout, they often became trainers in the Factory and were perpetually on the lookout for any infractions committed by the spouses-in-training. Often, they had to be transferred to other departments due to 'overachievement'

The nice term for what they did to punish spouses-in-training.

When Niklaus was eleven, the male living in the next room to him, named Aiden had supposedly committed some transgression that had been picked up by a devout named Dahlia.

She had administered level ten shocks to his system until it had killed him. His screams still echoed in Niklaus' ears and Dahlia had remained as a trainer and killed another two males, but her last victim had already been purchased by a woman and killing another woman's concubine was a frowned upon act in the matriarchy.

He knows that a housewife doesn't have the ability to administer shocks on another woman's pleasure-spouse but there were other things she could do to them.

Report them until they were sent back to the Factory for re-training.

Or worse, sent to the mines.

Niklaus doesn't close his bedroom door until he is absolutely certain that Elijah is in his own room and then he walks straight to his chair and sits down, putting his hands on his knees and exhaling slowly.

If he stretches his senses, he can hear the housewife downstairs with the servants, hear them cleaning the house and their chatter and laughter.

From his chair- which he doesn't dare move without permission- he can just glimpse the world outside the window. The large oak tree in the yard and the blue sky through the rustling leaves.

He hasn't been allowed a window to the outside world in ten years.

It's as beautiful as he remembers.

* * *

A/N- Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

"Attention co-workers I actually like!"

Caroline jumped in her seat as Katherine's voice boomed across the floor and looked out from her office,

"Katherine!" she shouted, striding to the main floor, "Don't stand on desks, you're pregnant,"

She glances down at the desk space, "And definitely not when you're in _heels_!"

Katherine rolls her eyes and turns back to the retro-microphone in her hand, "I am here to report that Caroline Forbes has _finally_ got herself a pleasure-spouse…"

She breaks off and Caroline's face goes red as the staff break into cheers and rounds of applause, Katherine beams and flicks her hair over her shoulder,

"Please head to meeting room one for details."

She tosses the retro-microphone away and it screeches as it hits the floor, she inches around before holding out two hands expectantly and two interns come forward to help her get down from the desk.

"We need to discuss the line-up for tonight," Caroline protests as the room quickly fills with their work friends and a few curious interns, "We don't have time for this."

"Oh please," Camille laughs, "You don't stand a _chance_ of talking her down from this."

"Okay," Katherine swanned into the room and pressed a button, bringing up the screen on the far wall,

"Someone hop onto the Factory page and bring up his profile, his name is Niklaus with a k."

Seeing that she has no chance of getting out of this, Caroline sinks down into her favorite spot and smiles when Liv sits down next to her.

"I can start talking about Luke if you need to make a break," she offers and Caroline shakes her head,

"Katherine would never let me get away with it. How is he, by the way?"

Olivia was a fraternal twin and those were rare enough in the new society that nobody had been quite sure what should be done with the males. They'd given the option to the female twin at ten and again at eighteen to surrender their brother to the Factory, the mines, or to keep them in their house.

If they were to be kept in the house, they found themselves in a strange limbo, neither spouse nor servant, not really existing in the hierarchy.

"He's good," she replies, "Tyler's no longer freaked out by him, so they're getting along."

The Factory page is loading and Caroline pretends to focus on the screen.

Spouses who had already been purchased had restricted profiles where somebody had to register their interest before they could access information fully. Caroline is goaded into entering her log-in and the women clap and pour over the details.

"Ooh," Andie hums, "Artistic and pretty, good choice."

Caroline blushes and then grabs the keyboard from Andie when she jokingly hovers over the return button,

"Not funny." She singsongs and keeps a firm hold when Katherine tries to yank it away,

"Hey, what's this feature?" she demands, pointing to the screen, "You can allot him spending coupons online?!"

She grabs her phone and begins tapping away, "I'm still transferring them to Elijah old-school."

"Wait, _Elijah_?" Camille pipes up, "You still have him?"

Katherine nods, "Uh huh."

Andie blinks in surprise, "Well, that explains why the wait-list for him hasn't moved up any."

Caroline watches as Katherine laughs, "Oh Andie, first you lost your spouse to Elena and now you're waiting on mine? Pick one the Pierce-Gilbert's don't want and move on."

Andie glowers, crossing her arms over her chest and muttering darkly about nepotism in the new regime and Caroline knows that she's not entirely wrong.

Katherine and Elena were descendants of the first women to bring about the new regime and as such, got liberties that other women didn't get. However, they weren't as bad as the politicians in New Washington who could have as many as three different spouses at the same time.

Caroline turns her attention to the interns in the corner, young women under twenty-one didn't have live-in pleasure spouses and clearly, they were curious, "Questions?" she asks one of them kindly,

"What do they do when you aren't there?" she asks, "Like, when you're at work or out, do they just…wait for you to come home?"

"Cause that's kind of creepy." she finishes and Caroline finds herself at a loss for words.

What did spouses do when the women weren't at home?

She glances to Katherine who was still bickering with Andie, "Kat?"

"And so's your _mom_ ," Katherine finishes, "Yeah, Care?"

She gestures to the intern who repeats the question and the older women around the table pipe up,

"They do whatever you want them to do," Camille tells her, "I have mine read psychology journals and summarize the articles I might be interested in covering."

Katherine shudders, "Send them to the mines, it'd be kinder,"

"They're meant to pursue their interests when we're out," she explains, "Mine tends to read, play chess…" she stops and puts a hand on her hip, facing Caroline,

"You didn't tell yours that he was allowed to do activities while you were gone, did you?"

Caroline puts her head in her hands, "Seriously?! I _literally_ have to tell him he can do that?"

Katherine rolls her eyes, "Come on."

She takes her hand and pulls her from the room, down to her office, "Honestly, how did you even survive before me?"

"You know we still have to confirm the line-up," she grumbles as Katherine pushes her into her chair,

"Who are you calling?" she asks but Katherine ignores her.

" _Hello, dearest,_ " Elijah's voice tentatively filters into the room, " _How is your day, thus far?_ "

Katherine smirks flirtatiously, "Good and it'll be better when I get home to you. Listen, Caroline is going to send some coupons to her concubine, take him shopping for art supplies, or whatever he needs to get through the day."

She's about to hang up when Elijah replies, " _Dearest, does Niklaus have permission to leave the premises without Miss Caroline?_ "

Katherine sighs, and holds her hand out, "Controller." she demands when Caroline isn't forthcoming,

"I don't have that on me," she explains, "I figured that was something you kept in the bedroom."

Her friend throws her hands up in the air, "You are _literally_ the worst." She shouts,

"Elijah, change of plans, take him downstairs and the two of you can watch a movie…something you like that bores my brains out."

Elijah thanks her and she ends the call, turning on her heel and striding from the office,

"There," she snaps, "Caroline Forbes' problem has been solved, I'm going to hair and make-up."

* * *

 _Six hundred thousand and seventy-four Mississippi._

 _Six hundred thousand and seventy-five Mississippi._

 _Six hundred thousand and…_

His bedroom door is opened so quietly that Niklaus doesn't even notice until Elijah calls his name.

He wonders if nine hours had passed already but he doesn't think the sun has moved far enough in the sky for that to be the case, which means…

"Is something wrong?" he asks tentatively, his hands tensing and gripping his knees.

But Elijah is smiling, "No," he swears, "Katherine called and asked that I take you downstairs to watch a film. She called when she and Miss Caroline realized that you had been left without instructions for the day."

A film?

"An instructional video?" Niklaus tries to clarify, but his brother shakes his head,

"No, Katherine allows me to watch actual movies, like the ones we used to watch as children, do you remember?"

Vaguely.

He stands uncertainly, "Are you sure it's not a test?" he asks, "Should we not tell them that we'd rather stay in our rooms?"

Elijah holds his hand out, "Niklaus, they would not test us like this, they are simply being kind."

Kindness is a lie.

A pipe-dream fed to the boys at the Factory.

If you are a good concubine…

A good spouse…

If you're pleasing to your mistress, then she will be kind to you.

And what was kindness?

In what way, would their future owners be kind to them?

This was never specified, unlike the punishments they could expect for failing in their duties.

Those had been explained to them in explicit detail, followed by instructional videos that had left them with nightmares for weeks afterward.

For the second time that day, he allows himself to be drawn downstairs, this time to the living room where the viewing screen is and stands while Elijah picks up the remote,

"She permits you to do this?" he mutters in amazement when the technology doesn't reject his male DNA.

He grins, "Yes, Katherine had the settings adjusted on many of the devices so that I could use them. She prefers having others do things for her."

He sorts through the files until he draws up a film, "This is an adaptation of a novel," he explains, sinking down onto the carpet in the seiza position that they'd been taught at the Factory and Niklaus follows suit, "Katherine finds them boring but allows me to watch them."

Seeing the production logos and hearing the music filter through the hidden speakers gave Niklaus pleasant flashbacks to his childhood, to late nights when he and his brothers had been allowed to watch films with Rebekah, all of them cuddled up on the couch together.

Back when they'd been allowed to sit on furniture.

The film is a period drama, set hundreds of years ago, and Niklaus finds the plot boring but much more fun than counting in his head as he waited for Caroline to come home. But Elijah is enthralled, watching avidly and only speaking to tell him about changes in the plot.

He is so caught up that he doesn't hear when the housewife steps into the room.

" _What are you doing?_ " she screeched and the two brothers quickly climb to their feet.

She put her hands on her hips, glaring at them furiously, " _How dare you leave your rooms!_ "

Elijah swallows nervously, "Our mistresses gave us permission to…"

He's cut off as he doubles over, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Niklaus reaches for him automatically when the housewife holds up her hand,

"Don't touch him, I _forbid_ it!" she holds out her palm and he sees the device resting in it.

It looked like a smaller version of the remote that the mistresses used for their spouses.

"He deserves this punishment."

Her eyes are gleaming savagely as she turns the dial again and again, the ability to kill him within her reach.

"Forgive me," Niklaus says quickly, clasping his hands behind his back,

"Mistress Katherine called her brood-spouse and asked him to play a film for us as a means of passing the time, I'm sure if you contacted her she would confirm…"

" _Asked!_ " the housewife shrieked, "She asked him?! What kind of language is that?"

Niklaus had forgotten how to speak to a devout. He opens his mouth to apologize but before he can say anything, she slaps him and points the device at him.

At first, he judges the shock as a five before the pain jolts through his bones and he drops to his knees, groaning as he tries to ride through the agony.

"I'm going to file complaints against both of you for insubordination," she announces proudly as she stomps on his hand, causing him to fall to the carpet.

"You'll both end up in the mines."

Niklaus closes his eyes to hide the hatred burning in them and keeps his head lowered as she strides out of the room. Another savage burst of electricity courses through them before it blissfully ends and the two men gasp as they can breathe again.

Twitching with the aftershocks, both of them struggle to their feet and Elijah pauses the movie that had played through uninterrupted the entire time.

"We should go upstairs." He mutters quietly, as if either of them had a choice.

* * *

The housewife is in the kitchen so they go the long way, through the laundry and up a back staircase that hadn't been used in a while.

Niklaus follows on his brother's heels, reaching out to grab him when he trips and supporting him the rest of the way to his bedroom.

He is barely conscious and Niklaus lies him down on his bed, taking his hand and at a complete loss as to what to do until he comes to.

"I'm alright," Elijah lies gently, squeezing his hand, "Anna never does anything that will prevent me greeting Katherine when she comes home from work."

"This has happened before then?" he surmises, unable to meet his brother's eyes and instead, looking about the bedroom.

It was the exact same layout as his except he had a portable chess table on his seat and books stacked neatly on the windowsill.

"She's _devout_ ," he croaks, "She would have done worse if you hadn't been there."

His muscles are still tense and sore from the torture and Niklaus struggles to stand up straight,

"Could you not tell Katherine?" he suggests, "You're always harping on about how kind they are."

His brother's eyes narrow at that dig, but he shakes his head wearily, "It'd be her word against mine."

And before the law, a man's word was worth a great deal less than that of a woman's.

"That device she has can't be legal, though," he protests, "The only ones allowed to adjust our arousal controls and punish us are our owners and the authorities."

Elijah shakes his head more firmly now, wincing and placing a hand over his eyes, "Niklaus…please…I cannot risk Anna complaining about me, I'm overdue to be returned as it is."

He shrugs, "Would that be a bad thing? Katherine might give you extra food but I'm sure…"

Elijah snatches his hand, sitting up and draws him close, " _I am not leaving her!_ "

Niklaus stares into his brother's eyes and sees something there that he can't quite define,

"What is it?" he asks quietly, blue eyes staring into brown, "Why do you care so much?"

He releases him and lays back down, looking up at the ceiling, "Do you know how many times I've been a brood-spouse, brother?"

"Eight," he reveals, answering his own question, "Eight times and seven successfully. There are seven children out there that I helped to give life to and the moment the woman conceived I was sent back to the Factory. I don't know anything about these children and I only know that there's seven and not eight because my stats were read when Katherine purchased me."

He takes a ragged breath and gives a pained smile, "Every day I please Katherine, every day I make pleasant or easier for her, is another day she flouts regulations, keeps me by her side and I come closer to being there for the birth…I just want to see the baby once, just once and know the sex."

He blinks hard, "Here's hoping it's a girl." He whispers, the joke falling flat.

Niklaus nods to calm him, "Our secret." He promises, his mind far away on paintbrushes and release from pain.

* * *

Caroline flops down onto the couch and kicks off her shoes, sinking her toes into the carpet with a pleased sigh.

"Can I fetch you something to drink, Miss Caroline?" Elijah asks, lingering in the doorway to the kitchen, "Tea, coffee, lemonade?"

"Elijah makes really nice lemonade," Katherine interjects from the other couch where she is reclining in a theatric pose, her hair spread out above her head and her arm flung on the tresses, "Various flavors, lavender, mint, grapefruit…"

She finishes in a yawn and Caroline smiles, "I'm fine, really."

She glances up and sees Niklaus watching the situation, his eyes sharp and figures he's taking mental notes, still learning the ropes like her. He looks a little pale but smiles when their eyes meet.

She pats the cushion beside her, realizes that she's left her notebook in her handbag and is about to get up when Katherine anticipates her move and sends Niklaus to do it instead.

"Seriously?!" she complains to her friend, "I'm not disabled."

Katherine shrugs, "He needed something to do, he was looking nervous."

Elijah glides into the room, carrying Katherine's afternoon tea and sets it down on the coffee table, before settling onto the couch at her feet. Caroline watches as he slips off her heels without asking, putting her feet in his lap before beginning to massage them.

"Sweetheart?"

She starts, twisting to look at her pleasure-spouse who is holding the notebook out to her like it was a champagne glass on a silver tray. She takes it quickly, fumbling it and Niklaus grabs it before it hits the floor, this time setting it on her knees and she blushes.

"Do you want to sit down?" she asks and he smiles, nodding once before sinking down onto the carpet and she meant the couch but doesn't want to make the moment anymore awkward.

"Did you two enjoy the movie?" Katherine asks.

Her eyes are closed so she can't see their reactions and Elijah's face is a perfect mask of placidity as he murmurs agreeably but Caroline glances down and sees that Niklaus isn't as quick to cover his expression.

"I'm sorry I forgot to give you permission to have fun while I'm out," she whispered apologetically, "But you can do whatever around the house when I'm at work."

He smiles complacently at her, "Thank-you, sweetheart."

His eyes are still shuttered and she frowns, wondering if she's imagining things or if something is wrong.

Maybe he and Elijah had a disagreement? Or just didn't like each other?

Deciding that she'll figure it out later, she hops onto her notebook, browsing her social media pages before checking her emails.

She has a few from work, some from her friends, more than a dozen promotional messages and sees one from the Factory.

She assumes it's promotional material or a survey and goes to delete it when she sees the tag line.

'Possible unauthorized interaction with female'

What?

She opens it.

 _'Dear Ms. Forbes,_

 _At 13:43 hours today your assigned pleasure-spouse engaged in an interaction with a female who isn't listed as a resident at your address. As programmed and per latest regulations, this conversation was recorded on his controls and has been sent to you for your perusal._  
 _If you find that this interaction was against pleasure-spouse protocol, please feel free to contact our Complaints department._

 _Sincerely,_

…..'

What?!

Caroline scrolled to the bottom of the page where she found an audio file attached. She opened it up and tapped the button to have it play to her Bluetooth device in her ear rather than on the notebook speakers.

The first time she listens, she's not sure what she's hearing, but by the third time she's turned up the volume enough that she can hear the electric buzz.

It's loud enough that the other occupants in the room can hear some of the noise and are watching her curiously, "What's the matter?" Katherine asked, propping herself up on her elbows,

"Someone screw up on our twitter feed again?"

"No," she manages, "Not at work."

She sends the audio to Katherine's ear device and her friend rolls her eyes, "Urgh, work is over for the day, Caroline, why do I have to listen to anything…"

"Just listen to the damn thing," Caroline snapped, before resting her hand on Niklaus' shoulder,

"Hey, sit next to me."

His brow furrows in surprise but he cautiously lifts himself up and sits on the couch beside her, his hands on his knees as he tilts his head slightly.

"Do you want to tell me what happened today?" she asks him quietly and the blood leaves his face.

" _What_ am I listening to?" Katherine demands, her voice dangerously low and Elijah pauses, his hands still holding her feet,

"I'm afraid I don't understand," He says, "Is something wrong?"

"This upgrade must have been after you left the Factory but Niklaus' controls come pre-installed with a recording device," she explains,

"Apparently, it turns on every time he interacts with a woman who isn't Katherine or myself."

Elijah blanches as Katherine pulls her feet from his grasp and sits up, " _Talk,_ " she demands, " _Now._ "

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, clearly struggling for words and Niklaus reaches over, touching Caroline's hands, "May I speak, sweetheart?"

She nods and he smiles, "It was a simple misunderstanding…she didn't realize that we had been given permission to leave our rooms."

"She _punished_ you," Caroline points out, "I can hear you in pain…what did she do? Did she have a weapon or…"

"She had a controller, much like yours although I've never seen anything like it before," Niklaus continues, lowering his head,

"It caused shocks like the ones we're administered by our owners or at the Factory."

"A universal controller." Katherine explains, standing up and looking about for her handbag, Elijah reaches for her hand but she shakes him off.

"Like the authorities have?" Caroline queried, "I didn't know housewives carried them."

"Because they don't," she said as she stomped from the room, "Because having one without a license is very, _very_ illegal."

"Dearest," Elijah calls, rising swiftly and hurrying after her, "It was a simple misunderstanding."

Through the doorway, Caroline watches as Katherine spins around to face him,

"Really?" she asks, her voice heavy with sarcasm, "And how often have there been _misunderstandings_ in this house?"

Concubines were forbidden from lying to their mistresses. They could decorate the truth, tell their mistress they were beautiful when they weren't, or refer to incidences of abuse as 'simple misunderstandings' or 'deserved chastening'.

However, a blatant lie was against regulation.

So instead, Elijah falls silent and Katherine glowers,

"I'm going to bring up your stats," she told him quietly, "I'm guessing your heart rate jumped every time she hurt you, so I'll be able to count the number of times she did. If I find out it was more than twice and you didn't tell me, I am not going to be happy."

Niklaus gives a sharp intake of breath and Caroline sees Elijah's shoulders drop, "I wanted to stay with you," he murmurs, "A little bit of pain was worth that."

Katherine reaches up, stroking his cheek gently, "The whole point of you being my spouse is that only I can choose to punish you," she points out,

"This bitch broke those laws."

Katherine had moved out of sight and ear shot when she checked Elijah's statistics page but her screams of fury as she reported Anna's actions first to her employer and then to the authorities echoed throughout the house.

After the day's events, Caroline figured both the spouses could do with a full night's sleep and sent them up to their rooms after ordering them to eat.

Elijah treads the staircase with obvious reluctance and Caroline catches Niklaus as he moves to follow,

"You didn't do anything wrong," she assures him, "But if something like this happens again, you call me immediately, okay?"

He blinks and stares at her for a moment before giving a slow nod,

"Yes, sweetheart."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- Here we go.

* * *

Caroline didn't call for him that night.

Yet, despite the teachings from the Factory, he did not choose to get his beauty sleep so he would retain his pleasing looks, or chastise himself over what he must have done wrong.

Instead, he listened to his brother as he paced the floor of the next bedroom for the fourth hour in a row.

"Go to sleep." He snaps, his voice barely above a whisper but somehow loud enough for Elijah to pause in his steps.

"I cannot," Elijah answers, barely audible through the wood, "Niklaus…what if she doesn't forgive me?"

Niklaus steeples his fingers and holds them under his nose,

"I do not think that it is you that requires forgiveness, brother," he reasons, "She is angry because someone touched something that belonged to her."

"Which makes me tainted," Elijah moans, "Used goods…what if she wants to send me away?"

Then he would be sent away. There was nothing either of them could do, they had no say in their situation, in their lives.

They would likely never see each other again.

"Try to rest," he beseeches him, "You know that tired men are ugly men."

He hears the creak of bedsprings and the tension drains from his body, sleep starting to drag him down into oblivion when there's another creak and Elijah's bedroom door opens.

"I have to talk to her."

 _No!_

Concubines were never allowed to leave their rooms after nightfall without their mistress's permission. Even if the house was burning down around their ears, to leave without consent warranted having the soles of their feet whipped until they couldn't walk.

Niklaus reaches his own door a mere two seconds after his brother, but it is too late. He can already see his red robe disappearing around the corner,

"Elijah!" he hissed, "Come _back_."

He couldn't do this. He could leave him.

Darting back into his room, Niklaus grabs his own red robe from the hamper, throwing it on hastily and looking down the hallway, at the carpet and setting off at a run.

Years of being taught to walk silently means that he is light of foot, his heels barely touching the ground and he nearly catches his brother in time.

He would have done so, except that they were not the only ones out of bed.

Katherine was standing outside her bedroom door, a mug in her hand and still dressed in her work clothes, staring at Elijah silently as he stands before her and Niklaus comes to a quick stop, holding his breath as his heart thuds in his chest.

He hadn't been fast enough.

They would be punished now.

Perhaps the ultimate punishment.

Execution.

Let it be that, if they were going to die, let them die together, or while there was still some part of them that hadn't been stolen, violated or twisted to the pleasure of their owners.

"Dearest…"

Elijah breathes her endearment like a prayer and Katherine lifts her chin as Niklaus unwittingly inches back towards the shadows,

"I…" he trails off, his transgression complete, he finds himself unable to speak, unable to find the words necessary to save his own life.

Katherine leans against the doorjamb, sipping on her drink before lowering it again,

"I shouldn't have had to find out from Caroline's pleasure-spouse that you were being hurt by that bitch," she begins,

"I'm sending you to have your controls updated in the morning, is there anything else I need to know about before then? Drinking, drugs, sexual deviance?"

Three things males were absolutely forbidden to experience unless- Niklaus had heard it whispered- they were brothel-spouses, in which case, all things were encouraged for the pleasure of their hourly owners who enjoyed the farce of freedom.

Elijah shakes his head, clasping his hands behind his back so that only Niklaus could see how much they trembled,

"I…would never willingly or wittingly commit any act that could take me away from you."

Katherine hums and uses her foot to push open her bedroom door, turning on the lights as she disappeared inside and Elijah's shoulders drop. Niklaus takes the chance to move forward,

"Let's go back," he pleads, pulling on his robe, "Quickly before."

"Elijah…" Katherine voice trails from the room, "Come here."

Elijah's head shoots up and he approaches the door with cautious hope, a feeling Niklaus doesn't share. Still, he drinks in the sight of his brother's back, knowing this might be the last time he ever sees him al-

"Strip," Katherine's voice orders, "I'm going to ride you into oblivion."

Or not.

The sleeve of Elijah's robe ends up in the hallway and when Niklaus takes his chances, creeping forward to kick it into the room fully, he catches a glimpse of his brother undressing Katherine, who was still sipping at her drink, averting his gaze, he quietly closed the door and exhaled.

They had one more night at least.

He is exhausted now, and the thought of his bed seems almost welcoming, so he turns on his heel.

And nearly collides with Caroline.

"Whoa!" she leans back and puts both hands on her own mug, making sure none of it spilled and that she had both feet on the ground before looking up.

Niklaus stared at her in horror, "Forgive me, sweetheart," he gasped, "Are you hurt?"

Caroline shook her head, giggling, "Surprised but hardly about to be taken out by hot chocolate, what's going on?"

Noncompliance with the laws that had been drilled into them since the day they entered the Factory.

"Is everything okay?" she asks, when he doesn't respond and he smiles, on surer ground now,

"Of course, I was just retiring to my room, as per your instruction."

He nods and takes a step but Caroline calls his name, "Is something wrong?"

His smile becomes wider, he tucks his hands behind his back as Elijah had done,

"What could possibly be wrong?"

Caroline's eyes widen, "Well, for starters, you've got one arm hanging out of your robe and no pants on."

Clearing his throat in embarrassment, Niklaus shoves his arm into the sleeve and quickly reties his belt into a bow, as instructed for both aesthetic purposes and ease of access. "I…"

He wants to explain the situation but he also wants to live and Caroline had already caused friction in the household once today, although in doing so had potentially saved Elijah and himself from future suffering.

So, did that possibly mean she could be trusted?

No.

If one believed in the kindness of a mistress, one might as well believe that there was a benevolent God.

If she was real, then surely, she had turned her back on the world decades ago.

A gentle moan filters out from the bedroom and Caroline sighed,

" _Seriously?!_ I thought she was going to give Elijah a break tonight!"

Shaking her head, she began padding away, "Come on," she whispers, "Let's get out of here before they get loud."

Glad for any reason not to hear his brother fornicating, Niklaus followed in her footsteps, only hesitating when she led him to her bedroom.

She places the mug down with a sigh and rubs her neck before perching herself on the end of her bed, "So, there'll be a new housewife day after tomorrow," she begins,

"And…are you sure the two of you are okay?"

No.

They would never be okay.

How could they be? They were slaves who lived their lives on the whims of their owners.

He smiles, "Of course, thank-you for asking, sweetheart."

She nods, and is about to speak when she's interrupted by a yawn and he grits his teeth to swallow his own response. He was exhausted.

But he couldn't leave until she dismissed him.

"Tomorrow," she says, eventually, "I'm going to give you permission to go out with Elijah."

Wonderful, so he could go back to the Factory he had so recently escaped from.

Caroline is rubbing her eyes now and he steps forward, "Shall I prepare your bed for you, sweetheart?"

She frowns in confusion, "No…no, I can do that, it's fine."

Then why was he still here?

He's fighting to keep himself upright and not sway on his feet,

"Is there anything more I can do for you this evening?"

Caroline hums in confusion and runs a hand through her hair, "No…uh…I'll see you tomorrow morning I guess."

He nearly sighs with relief. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

* * *

 _Six am._

Niklaus is standing at his door, his ear cocked and waiting.

When he hears his footsteps, he puts his hand on the knob but at the last moment, freezes uncertainly.

What if yesterday had been a one-off incident, what if their privileges had been revoked?

But Elijah knocks on his door and draws him out into the hallway, leading him down into the kitchen.

Wearing a new red robe, his brother silently swept about the kitchen, opening the fridge door and drawing out their breakfasts, setting the plate before him and touching his shoulder amicably before sitting down to his own meal.

He has bags under his eyes but a ghost of a smile on his face, yet even with his air of serenity, his hands trembled slightly as he ate.

They had eaten by the time their mistresses came down, Caroline sitting across from him and chewing on a piece of toast while reading the news and Katherine pouting indecisively about her food while touching her stomach and then dragging Elijah into the living room.

Niklaus turns his face away and wishes he could block his ears at the sound of Katherine kissing his brother and Caroline clears her throat before drawing up the screen on the island to start playing music to cover the sound.

She suddenly jumps and hurries out of the room and Niklaus starts, half-rising out of his chair uncertainly, but she returns a few moments later with her controller,

"Here," she announced, tapping away and his device embedded in his wrist picks up the signal and shows coupons being transferred,

"Uh…for you and Elijah to go shopping today, by something to keep yourself amused when I'm not here, okay?"

Niklaus glances at his wrist in confusion, "I thought Elijah was going to the Factory to have his systems updated?" he queries and Caroline shrugs,

"Yeah, but that shouldn't take all day."

"And I...we have your permission to go out afterwards, outside?" he confirms and she nods,

"Yeah, just…be back by dark."

 _Outside_.

She was allowing him to go outside?!

"Thank-you, sweetheart," he answers with a smile, one that is almost genuine.

Concubines had two outfits, one for the house which was a red robe that tied around the front of their bodies with red pants and shoes and one for the outside world.

This was a sleeveless shirt and pants, socks and boots, and a sleeveless jacket that went over it all. All in red and designed to flaunt their bare arms, especially so that the controls embedded into their wrists could be displayed, to signify, along with the color, that they were owned and better than the male slaves- who wore brown- but less than the life-spouses who wore blue.

Niklaus had received his outdoor wear wrapped in paper and had left it in his wardrobe, not able to bear the sight of it.

The false hope.

The last time he had been outside, he had been sitting in the yard with his mother, waiting for the Factory fetchers to come collect him. After that, there had been mere glimpses of the sky as he was bustled from one vehicle to another building.

He had not been outside for more than a handful of minutes combined since he was nine years old.

And now…

When he should have been first out the door, running ahead of Elijah even though he should be given precedence as the brood-spouse, he found himself standing on the threshold.

Frightened.

Of what he couldn't be sure only…

"Niklaus…" Elijah was standing on the path, adjusting the yellow belt he wore to signify his current status as brood-spouse. "Come."

One step.

One step and he would be outside.

"We cannot be late," Elijah chides, moving forward with a hand outstretched, to lead him as he had done so often throughout their childhood, remembering only at the last minute that concubines were forbidden to touch one another. "Shall I leave without you?"

A quick shake of his head and he forces himself forward, nearly tripping over his feet and then he is in the middle of the sloping lawn, his head tilted back as he stares up at the sky.

Clouds.

How could he have forgotten about clouds?

And the _sun_!

It was so warm on his face.

Elijah clears his throat, and Niklaus joins him on the street but slowly turns around.

There were so many directions he could take.

Could he run away?

No. The controller on his wrist would emit an alarm and release sedatives into his blood stream to render him unconscious, at which point he would be picked up by the Factory trackers and either returned to Caroline for punishment or returned to the Factory for 're-programming'

Still…

It was a nice fantasy.

Concubines weren't allowed to drive cars or other means of transportation, nor were they allowed on public transport. Instead, they were encouraged to walk so as to keep fit and prevent themselves becoming 'soft' or…against all odds, 'fat'.

Elijah set off at a brisk pace, Niklaus hurrying to keep up, and he led him through the suburban streets, on the footpath.

"We are allowed to talk," he tells him under his breath, "However, it must be at a certain volume and only of certain matters, lest we disturb the peace of any woman that might be near."

Niklaus nods, "It is a lovely day," he murmurs, keeping his voice toneless, "Are we far from the Factory?"

Elijah shakes his head, "Only an hour to the city center and then another thirty minutes after that."

His brother comes to a slow stop and steps off the footpath, standing in the gutter and Niklaus follows suit. They lower their heads as a woman jogs past them without even a glance in their direction. When she is out of sight, they step back onto the path and resume walking.

It isn't until they are on the outskirts of the city center that they begin to see other males.

Spouses like themselves in the red, but more often, life-spouses, those trustworthy and trained enough to be allowed outside whenever they pleased.

Niklaus notes that though the main footpath into the city center is wide, the males were moving in singular file and pausing at the corner.

"Permit check," Elijah muttered, "To ensure we have permission to be outside."

Keeping their eyes lowered, so that they can only see the robes of the men in front of them.

The policewomen standing at the entrance to the park that encircled the city center were chewing gum, and chatting to each other as the males filed through.

"Put your wrist in the scanner."

Niklaus does as instructed, holding it there until he's told to remove it and awaits further orders.

"Hey," the policewoman says and he lifts his eyes as he's allowed to do when being addressed directly,

"Smile." She continues and his response is automatic and she grins.

"There you go, you're so much prettier when you smile."

"Thank-you, Officer." he murmurs with feigned respect, bowing his head and moving out of the way, stopping on the park footpath to wait for Elijah.

His brother is being held up by the other policewoman who had noticed his yellow belt and was loudly remarking on what his abilities in the bedroom might be.

Through it all, Elijah kept his head bowed and a placid expression on his face until the officer smacks him on the rear and sends him on his way.

At least they hadn't been sent home again out of pure spite.

There are set paths set up throughout the city that were for males only, so that women would not have to come into contact with them if they didn't wish to.

Niklaus remembers his history classes, of how males had built cities without any gardens, that had damaged the environment and nearly destroyed the world. Now, vertical gardens grew up the four sides of the buildings and super-trees stood everywhere.

A monkey darts across the path and stops to look at him, squealing at him and he raises an eyebrow,

 _'Are you a female also?'_ he wonders, _'That you treat me like this?'_

Elijah finally reaches him and they resume their journey, encountering no-one else but men as they walk along the path, a dull hum of whispers and sideways glances as those about them tried to see their faces, to see if they were familiar to them.

Niklaus sees the white robe of a twin, walking alongside a concubine with familiar black hair.

Tyler Lockwood had been in the same batch as him.

His mother had been a Mayor and when he'd first been brought to the Factory he had constantly told the women there that there had been some mistake, he wasn't a lowly male, his mother had promised he could stay with her.

Niklaus had thought it had been rather cruel of his mother to have lied to him like that.

All who entered the Factory were taught to walk either in step with their mistress or quickly and quietly, so their boots hardly made a sound on the pavement, however, Niklaus notes the growing hesitation and the slowing of the traffic long before the Factory begins to peek above the trees.

A building of brick with chimneys that hadn't been used in decades and now covered in solar panels, it was an ugly, squat building with no windows. There were no gardens or parks in the street leading to the Factory, there were security guards before an ironwork gate and underground electric fence to prevent runaways.

To where would they run?

Once again, they are scanned but where Elijah is waved through, Niklaus is held up, "Hang on," the guard says, "Why're _you_ here?"

Since the moment, he had stepped outside, he had been rehearsing the answer for this very question over and over again in his mind.

"My mistress Caroline Forbes wished for me to purchase items today and as mistress Pierce's brood-spouse had an appointment with the Factory, she told me to accompany him beforehand."

The guard hums but checks his data and mustn't see any reason to detain him.

She sends him on and they approach the doors to the Factory, looking at the sign on the right to tell them where they must go.

The answer is four floors down to the Upgrade center where they find a waiting room that consists of a wooden bench running along the wall and that is it.

Elijah cautiously approaches the bored looking receptionist who ignores him for a solid five minutes before sighing and raising her head,

"What's your number?"

He rattles off the identification number that combined his birthdate, IQ and sperm count at the time of his processing. More sighing as the woman types away on her computer and tells Elijah to take a seat, which he does, at an allowed proximity to Niklaus as they settle in to wait.

Hearing a slight buzzing, Niklaus closes his eyes and tries to focus.

The words are familiar and he notes that it's the Laws for Males being repeated on constant loop through a hidden speaker.

This one audio track was played twenty-four hours a day, louder in the dorms and Niklaus had learnt to fall asleep to the noise.

To the voice telling him that he was a lesser-being because of his gender.

Two women approach, both in the uniform of the Factory and Niklaus recognizes Genevieve but not the woman with her.

Males had to stand when women entered the room and they did so now, clasping their hands in front of them politely.

"Do stay seated," Genevieve says, stopping before them and they sit back down in their seats uncertainly.

"Now, I see from your files that there had been a little incident," she continues and Niklaus frowns in confusion,

"I'm afraid I do not understand," Elijah says, speaking for both of them as required by his higher status.

"I am here for an update while Mistress Caroline's spouse is here to…"

Genevieve gives a tight smile, "I know, I also know Ms. Pierce requested the update after you accused a housewife of inappropriate behavior."

Niklaus' blood runs cold and his eyes flicker to her belt, where her remote hung.

How many times had she used that device to torture him for not reciting the laws fast enough, or working hard enough or bringing her to orgasm fast enough?

With the right setting, she could kill them both in the space of ten minutes, with no witness who would speak against her.

"I would never make an accusation against a woman," Elijah offers as defense, "I know my place…" he pauses as he searches for the right words,

"The latest upgrade to our devices has an audio recording system in place for when we have interactions with women to whom we do not belong…when Mistress Caroline heard this, she alerted my mistress who judged the incident to be…improper."

Good. Niklaus silently compliments his brother, knowing that to accuse males of lying was one thing, but a woman would never accuse another woman of having lied about an incident of abuse.

Genevieve glared but the other woman spoke up, "It's just _unfortunate_ is all," she declares,

"Anna, the housewife is a _good_ person and it's such a _shame_ to have her life _ruined_ over one _little_ incident, I mean, it's not like anyone died."

Spoken like someone who had never been tortured.

"You're right," Elijah smiles politely, bowing his head to her, "Shall I plead with my mistress to drop the charges against her? I would so hate for anyone to be punished."

"No." Genevieve and the woman snapped in unison and Niklaus lowered his eyes so that they would not see the malicious triumph in them.

This wasn't an official request.

He had no idea who the other woman was, but Genevieve was an instructor, not an enforcer, she had no authority in the situation.

In all likelihood, these women were attempting to prevent the scandal when the information got out or intimidate them into silence for the sake of their friend.

Except, that if Katherine found out, if Elijah told her that the conversation had happened, there would be blood.

Interfering with an official investigation, especially when both parties were female, was probably not legal. Genevieve recovers first, clearing her throat,

"Anyway, it doesn't matter, the audio files were accidentally deleted, there is no evidence."

Elijah offers a casual shrug,

"I am glad the matter is resolved," he lies pleasantly, "Is it time for my upgrade?"

The women do not look happy but if they returned home without Elijah's device having been upgraded, Katherine would want to know why.

When Klaus' device had been fitted, it hadn't taken longer than twenty minutes.

Elijah is gone for an hour and when he returns, he is pale and holding his wrist, wincing as they exist the building.

"Did they decide to make sure the punishment setting worked correctly?" Niklaus asked, using loaded language as they made their way towards the road,

"If Katherine checks my heart rate recordings again, she shan't be happy." He sighed.

A Factory truck peeled up to the entrance and enforcers climbed out.

Instinctively, Elijah and Niklaus stepped backwards until they were pressed against the brick wall, making themselves as small and inconspicuous as possible but the women ignored them.

They opened the van and immediately, the screams began.

"No!" the male protested as he was dragged out of the vehicle, "No, please…I'm innocent… _innocent!_ "

He was struggling, even though his hands were bound, he was trying to grab ahold of the van, and then the concrete, kicking and crying the entire time.

He throws his head back and screams horrifically up to the sky, as if cursing it for his fate, and then pleading for mercy as the enforcers didn't even blink but carried him into the building.

Scheduled for execution then.

He didn't look a day over nineteen.

Elijah and Niklaus kept their heads down until the echoes had finished reverberating around the space, breathing sighs of relief in unison that the terrible thing hadn't happened to them.

"Did you know him?" Elijah asks out of the corner of his mouth,

"No." Niklaus shakes his head, "He's younger than me."

Elijah hums, "Come…we should leave."

* * *

There was a single, short street in the city center where only males shopped.

Niklaus followed Elijah down that street and looked about curiously.

He had never been in a shop before.

He sees one selling books, another selling sweets, one selling what appeared to be costumes.

"This one has art supplies." Elijah announced, opening the door and Niklaus steps inside.

The shop is dusty and ill-lit, assorted products placed bizarrely on shelves, making it difficult to find anything.

Still, Niklaus is fighting a smile on his face as he picks up coals, pencils, a sketchbook and even looks longingly at an easel before taking his things to the counter.

"No paints?" Elijah asks curiously when they leave and Niklaus shakes his head, "If Caroline sees me buying paint, she'll want to know what I painted, but a sketchbook…" he runs his fingers along it lovingly, "Perhaps she won't care what I draw in this."

Elijah frowns at him with concern, "What does it matter?" he demands,

"You shan't use that for anything inappropriate, shall you?"

Such things were naturally forbidden but Niklaus smiles placatingly, a hint of a plan already forming in his mind, "Never." He lies.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Here we go, everyone! Short but terrible.

Caroline had finished her plan for tomorrow's line-up and was sitting at her desk, browsing through vacation destinations online when Katherine swept into her office, tapping her Bluetooth lightly to show she was on a call.

"Corrupted data file, you say?" she echoes, rolling her eyes at Caroline,

"Well, it's a _good_ thing that all my years in journalism taught me to always back everything up. I can send through another ten copies if you like? Or if it's somehow getting corrupted on your end, I'd be glad to send it to your supervisor…" she trails off, nodding, "Uh huh, no, I _totally_ get that. Okay…you have a nice day now, bye!"

She groans and drops dramatically onto Caroline's couch, "Stupid bitches."

Caroline looks up from her notebook, "Recap?" she asks, even as she knows Katherine was gearing up to give her a full dramatic retelling, with a possible intermission so Caroline could give her full sympathy and agreement twice.

"So, I got a call from the external affairs department from the Factory," she begins, "Because apparently, when it comes to 'abuse of males', they have to weigh in on the situation…I don't know and don't particularly _care_ …anyway, they tell me that my complaint against Anna won't go through because somehow, the audio file we sent through 'corrupted'." she reports, rolling her eyes as she made air quotes.

"How would the audio file even be corrupted?" Caroline asked, "The software they use is top of the line, the government uses it, it's supposed to be incorruptible…" she trails off as Katherine raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the detour, "Sorry, I read the instruction manual, go on."

"Right, well _clearly_ , it's bullshit, they just don't want to admit that one of the housewives abused a spouse because it might make the company look bad and the Factory doesn't want to deal with it because then they have to admit that there's black market controllers out there."

Caroline hums sympathetically, "So should we go to their supervisor?" she asks and Katherine shakes her head, "I think the threat alone will be enough to get Anna put on suspension, she may even get transferred to working in houses without spouses."

Huh.

Justice done.

The two of them leave work early because Caroline was finished and Katherine was allowed to take half-days for the duration of her pregnancy, which she rarely did because she was in perfect health.

Except when she didn't feel like driving.

"I'm having a dizzy spell," she announced, sliding into the passenger seat of her own convertible, "Don't worry, it's not a manual."

Caroline rolls her eyes but walks around to the driver's side door, silently admitting to herself that she had wanted to drive Katherine's Porsche for a while.

It was a classic 2003, which had been retrofitted with the necessary solar panels that all vehicles required now. Though it still had that silly little exhaust pipe that all cars had carried prior to 2020.

And it drives like a dream.

So smooth and so easy to handle that Caroline almost regrets when they beat the traffic and make it home in record time, sliding into the driveway and she kills the engine just as Katherine twists in her seat to look over her shoulder.

"Call me crazy," she drawls, as if Caroline would ever dare to risk getting her face clawed off, "But those two spouses we passed on the street looked a lot like ours."

Caroline climbs out of the car and heads down the sloping lawn, looking down the street to see that Elijah and Niklaus were in fact standing in the gutter, both of them standing stock still as they watched her.

They looked so much like deer in the headlights that she snickers, "Hey," she calls down to them,

"You going to stand there all day?"

In unison, they shake their heads and she has to turn back to Katherine so they don't see her laughing, but instead of sharing her humour, her friend just rolls her eyes, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're not in trouble," she calls, not even bothering to face their spouses,

"We got home early, we don't care that you weren't here to welcome us…so on and so forth."

She waves her hand and heads inside, leaving the door open and Caroline's amusement dies as she realizes that their spouses hadn't been surprised, they had been worried about being punished.

Elijah is taking long strides to the house, giving her a quick greeting that she barely registers before he's hurried inside and she blinks in bewilderment before turning to see Niklaus approaching at a slower pace.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart," he says with a pleasant smile, "Did you have a nice day?"

She nods, "Uh yeah, it was fine and…uh…Katherine was right, you guys aren't in trouble…"

He tilts his head, which she's come to think means he's confused, "Thank-you."

Right.

She clears her throat, feeling self-conscious, "I'm going to head inside."

She expects him to follow her but when she gets to the door, she sees that he hasn't moved.

Except to tilt his head back, and close his eyes against the afternoon sun, swaying slightly and she feels the image tug at her heart strings.

He looked so peaceful in that moment.

"Hey," she beckons quietly and he is by her side in an instant, so she can cup his cheek, stroking it gently, "If you want to go outside sometimes, I'll speak to Katherine and you and Elijah can hang out in the backyard, okay?"

As long as they stayed out of sight of the neighbours, she didn't want anyone talking about how she and Katherine were practising 'patriarchal values', nothing would stall a woman's career in media faster than that.

Katherine is pacing the kitchen slowly, regally, sighing loudly about how _hard_ being pregnant was, and that _nobody_ understood, and that she was feeling very _dizzy_.

Caroline disagrees on the first two points and personally considers that the third was probably caused by the fact that Katherine was pacing in circles, but Elijah handles the situation with skill honed by years of training and experience.

"Shall I run you a bath, dearest?" he offers, "Or perhaps a foot rub while you catch up on your favourite shows?"

Katherine pouts and juts out a hip but eventually decides on a bath, and swans out of the kitchen, her performance over.

"Sweetheart?" Niklaus' voice startles her and he appears at her side, "If your day was stressful, I could give you a massage?"

She smirks, "What makes you think I had a stressful day?"

His eyes pointedly glance to the door Katherine had exited through, "No reason." he answers, his lips quirking up in a smile and she giggles,

"A massage does sound nice."

He promises to join her in her bedroom in fifteen minutes and she's barely taken off her shoes before he returns, having changed from his outside clothes into his red robe, carrying a wicker basket filled with oils and lotions.

"Spouses are given training in several different forms of massage," he explains as she sniffs at the oil and hums in delight at the scent of lavender.

"Shall I help you undress?"

She shakes her head, "That's fine."

She strips down, walking to her hamper as she does and tossing her clothes inside until she was in bra and panties, crossing back to her bed, she lay on her back, with her feet to the bed head and pillowing her face on her arms. She hears Niklaus rubbing his hands and feels the depression as he kneels over her.

"May I begin?" he asks and she hums her consent, closing her eyes in bliss as his warmed, oiled hands begin to stroke her back.

And he was right, it was soothing, so much so that even when he unclasped her strapless bra and moved the back out of the way, she didn't even care that he'd done so without asking. She's almost purring when he presses his thumbs down into two stress points and gives her a little jolt,

"Oh my god," she gasps, before feeling the tension drain from her back, "Oh, that feels _good_."

She can sense his satisfaction but his hands are hard at work, going deeper now and rocking her body slightly, leaving her moaning with delight as her muscles relax and the tension drains from her body.

And with only the thin silk of her panties between her and the bed, the rocking movement was putting just enough pressure against her vagina that she felt desire coils in her stomach. She chuckles through her closed lips, and rides the delicious feeling until her arousal starts to slip through her folds, at which point she rolls onto her back and Niklaus takes his hands off her only for her to grip his wrists and use them to push her bra down out of the way before placing them on her breasts.

He grins and begins massaging them, squeezing them gently and running his thumbs over her nipples until they harden and she slides her bra off her body, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his hair and pull him down for a fierce kiss.

She pushes her tongue into his mouth and puts her hand on his back shifting him until he was hovering over her and she could grind against him.

"You know," he pants when they break for air, "I know another form of stress relief…if I have your permission?"

She grins, "Granted."

He slides down her body and hooks his fingers into her panties, easing them down her legs and placing them on the blankets next to them, he gently takes her ankles and positions them on either side of him before he crawls back up the bed to her exposed vagina.

She quivers with anticipation and gasps with delight when he kisses her labia before running his tongue up to her clit, circling it and moving back down again. His blonde head bobs between her thighs as he pleasures her and she bites her lip, enjoying the sight almost as much as the sensation.

Almost.

Because he does this sideswipe thing with his tongue and she bucks, gasping as she feels herself nearing the edge and when he sucks on her clit she climaxes, her thighs pressing against him and her back arching as she came.

She falls back onto the bed with a breathy laugh, enjoying the high and quivering with a pleasant aftershock as Niklaus continued to kiss her vagina.

"Hey," she said, sighing happily and stroking his blonde curls when he's slow to respond. He emerges slowly, his tongue still lapping at her juices and when he sits back on his knees, he's licking his lips.

"You taste divine." he tells her, his eyes hooded and dark and she feels a tenderness towards him,

"I feel relaxed," she replies, grabbing his robe and using it to pull herself up into a sitting position, "Good job."

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" he asks, tilting his head and she's confused until she sees the humour in his eyes, "At the risk of disagreeing with you," he continues, "Should I not pleasure you again? To be absolutely certain I'm fulfilling my role."

She tilts her head back, laughing but pulls him in for a kiss, "Really?" she questions and he shrugs,

"I would hate for you to go to sleep stressed."

She bites her lip, but nods and he pushes away from her, leaning back against the pillows and she feels a stab of lust in her stomach as she crawls up the bed, setting her hands on the headboard and kneeling over his face.

This time, he places his hands on her thighs, drawing her down to his mouth and holding her in place as he runs his tongue over her greedily, his moans joining hers as he penetrated her and she's writhing against him, panting and squeezing her eyes shut as he chases her climax.

She leans her forearm on the headboard and uses her other hand to throw her hair over her shoulder, her body heated and perspiring following the activities.  
Niklaus draws away from her reluctantly, pressing little kisses to her clit, and glancing up at her before his tongue darts out quickly to run over it once more, causing her to give a little start.

"Third time's the charm?"

A smothered squeal is his only warning before Niklaus finds himself having to catch Caroline in his arms before she fell off the bed.

"I _can't_ …" she panted, limp against him as he twisted uncomfortably trying to get her lying against the pillows without any inconvenience on her behalf.

"I can't come again!" she finishes, her eyes barely open and her hair damp with sweat as she buried her face in the blankets, pawing at his robe with one hand.

Good.

Niklaus isn't allowed to touch her without her express permission but he takes a gamble and strokes her shoulder tenderly,

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" he asks, leaning down until his mouth is at her ear, "My _delicious_ sweetheart."

She hums with laughter but doesn't roll over or push him down to her vagina so he judges that this was an actual statement and not a challenge for him to rise to.

Good.

"I am stress-free," she mumbles, rolling onto her side and curling slightly, " _Seriously_."

Good.

"In that case," he kisses her shoulder, "I shall leave you to rest."

He figures that he can't pick her up to tuck her under the blankets, so instead, he folds it over her body, making sure she's covered and drifting off to sleep before he leaves the room.

But he's not an idiot, so he waits until he has reached the far corner of the house before wiping his sleeve over his mouth.

He feels sick.

Young women were idiots.

This was something Niklaus had discovered time and time again.

Give one an orgasm or three and they could care less what you did afterwards.

He was glad that Caroline wasn't the exception to the rule.

It meant that as long as he could distract her with his body, she wouldn't be asking any questions about his life outside of being her personal sex toy.

It meant he could draw whatever he wanted.

Returning to the spouse quarters, goes straight to the sink and spits into it with a violent savagery, wishing he could wash his mouth out with acid. He settles for water and mouthwash, waiting until he has calmed down before he delved into the bag he'd stashed away earlier and took out his art supplies.

Looking at the virgin paper in the sketchbook, his to fill as he saw fit was like a hit of a drug to him.

The closest he would ever come to freedom.

Good.

With a grin, he started to sketch.

A/N- Yep, I warned you.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- Hi Everyone. Yes I am alive, I know, I was surprised as you were. And I finally managed to update this story, which is even more shocking! 

* * *

"Look at me!" Katherine shrieked, her voice reaching almost every part of the house,

"I'm _fat!_ "

In the living room, Caroline turned the page of the magazine and didn't bother moving from the couch. Beside her, Niklaus briefly looked up from his sketchbook and raised his eyebrows curiously but, seeing her lack of response, soon returned to drawing.

They don't hear Elijah's response but they hear the clunking of shoes on the stairs and Katherine swings into the kitchen,

"Of course, you would say that!" she snaps, "You've a decade of training that makes you compliment me even when I'm _fat_."

Katherine was now six months pregnant and either suffering body dysmorphia or fishing for compliments, because every day she bemoaned the fact that she was getting bigger.

She was normal weight for a pregnant woman and carrying her child beautifully, receiving praise from women on the street, but that didn't stop her from demanding attention at home.

And as much as she wanted to be supportive of her friend during this time, there was only so many ways she could politely or passive-aggressively tell her that she was still amazingly beautiful before she felt the urge to scream.

She sways into the living room and collapses on the couch that was practically reserved for her prima donna actions at this stage.

"And why does the house smell like lemons?" she demands, lifting her head and sniffing pointedly,

"I like strawberry shortcakes, Elijah, not lemon shortcakes!"

Elijah smiles down lovingly at her and Caroline wonders just how intense the training is that Katherine isn't causing even the tiniest fracture in his façade,

"I am aware, dearest; however, the desserts are for Ms. Bennett."

Elizabeth Bennett?

Oh.

Bonnie Bennett.

"She is coming to stay tomorrow," he reminds them gently.

Katherine groans, "No! She can't, I'm in a good place right now. Elijah, tell Bonnie she can't come."

Elijah raises his eyebrows in a move eerily similar to Niklaus, "Dearest, how could I possibly do that?"

Katherine pouts, crossing her arms over her chest, "Yours is not to question how!" she snaps, butchering the phrase,

"Caroline…" she whines, "Tell Bonnie she can't come."

"No," Caroline answers firmly, "You've been begging Bonnie to visit for ages now and you know how hard it is to get visitation visas."

Katherine groans, "It wouldn't be if she hadn't defected to Hawaii."

"She didn't defect," Caroline corrects automatically, because she's had this conversation before not only with Katherine, but Elena, Bonnie's mother and damn near everyone from their hometown,

"She was simply in Hawaii when the King decided to break all ties with us."

After the new order had been established, Hawaii had campaigned to leave the United States, becoming their own country once more and returning to their monarchy. For a while there had been free travel between the two nations but when the Queen had died and her son had inherited the throne, diplomatic relations had soured and eventually, borders had been closed.

Not only to Hawaii, but to all countries that males might try to flee to. However, the island nation was the one that concerned Caroline now, because Bonnie had been there when the borders had shut and applied to become a Hawaiian citizen, citing her conscientious objection to what she called the 'enslavement of men'.

As if the males weren't being treated well and provided for, as if they would even know what to do with themselves if they were ever freed.

It wasn't like they could suddenly become productive, full-functioning members of society overnight, these things took time, and in the meantime, everyone and everything else would suffer.

Katherine shudders dramatically, "Urgh, imagine being ruled by a king…and I hear he's fat as well."

Caroline hears a sniff and looks to Niklaus to see him raising his sketchbook, looking as if he's studying the picture but she's pretty sure his shoulders are shaking.

She guessed that being a step removed from Katherine's antics meant he could see the humour in the situation.

A timer goes off in the kitchen and Elijah glances to the door, clearly eager to get back to baking,

"Is there anything more you require, dearest?" he asks Katherine, who waves her hand irritably,

"Go on, then," she snaps, "Leave me alone and unloved."

He freezes in the act of moving, turning back to her in clear confusion as to whether this had been an actual order, allowance of dismissal or facetious remark.

Niklaus puts aside his sketchbook and stands, his expression now placid,

"May I assist in the baking, sweetheart?" he asks her, and she nods, "Please do."

"And make some strawberry shortcakes once you're done," Katherine shouts at his retreating back,

"I'm craving something sweet."

* * *

As per regulations, Bonnie is escorted from the ship to an automated car with tinted windows that didn't open, which then drove her straight to their house, so that she might not glance outside and misperceive what she saw.

Travel between the island and mainland took ten days, two to clear customs and security on both sides and then seven days sailing.

The passengers weren't allowed to disembark until nightfall in covered docks, so it is just past dawn when Caroline jolts awake to the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

Squealing with excitement, she scrambles across the bed, her knees encountering something soft and she remembers that she had allowed Nik to remain with her last night.

He grunts at the contact but opens his eyes, rubbing at them blearily, "Do you need my services, sweetheart?" he asks, his voice still rough from sleep,

"Bonnie's here!" Caroline gushes and is at her bedroom door before she picks up on his confusion,

"It's fine," she says, answering his question, "I'm gonna go say hi."

Her bare feet are muffled by the carpeted hallway and she thinks that she is the only person up at this hour until she comes to the top of the stairs and sees the tall, red robed figure in front of her.

Elijah turns his head and smiles in greeting, his face drawn from weariness and dark circles under his eyes,

"Shall I bring Ms Bennett's bags in?" he suggests but she shakes her head,

"Bonnie won't like that," she tells him, "Go back to Katherine."

He turns away with less of his usual grace and she pauses for a moment to watch him stumble back to Katherine's room.

She almost wants to call after him, to tell him to go back to his bedroom because Katherine will be awake soon and males weren't allowed to be in women's bedrooms without their owner's present but there's a quiet knock on the door to distract her and she's hurrying down the stairs.

Bonnie has had a haircut since she saw her last and Caroline squeals as she throws her arms around her, squeezing her tight until she laughingly protests that she can't breathe.

"I've missed you so, so much!" she protests as she pulls her inside, "How are you? Tell me everything! Do you want coffee? Tea? Are you gonna stay up or get some sleep?"

Bonnie laughs and runs a hand through her hair, "Stay up but maybe crash this afternoon."

Caroline puts on the coffee machine and sits at the island, "Did the trip go okay?"

Her friend shrugged, looking down at the marble countertop, her index finger tracing a pattern,

"Border patrol gets tighter every time I come through," she sighed, "Eventually they're just going to stop handing out tourist visas and forbid travel."

Caroline scoffed, "Yeah right, that'll never happen, there's a lot of money in tourism."

"The cruise was nice at least," Bonnie allows, "Being on the water, my bed took up my entire room and I just sleep away most of the trip, getting up to eat at the buffet and crash again, it was amazing."

Her raised eyebrows must have said it all because her friend shrugs with a hint of embarrassment,

"I live five minutes from the beach," she explains, "Every morning I'm up at six for a run and a swim, I walk to and from work, there's always something going on afterwards, and I have rallies and meetings on the weekends…it's rare that I just get to relax, you know?"

Caroline found herself suddenly aware of how little she had socialised recently, usually, when she and Katherine finished work, they came home and hung out in the living room, watching one of their shows or amusing themselves with their pleasure-spouses.

"One of the upsides to living with a best friend," she offered lamely,

"You do your socialising at home, especially since we can't go out drinking at the moment." She adds as further justification, stopping when she sees Bonnie's frown on confusion,

"Because of the baby?"

Her friend's eyes dart down to her stomach, seeing it perfectly flat- thank-you very much- and coming to the correct conclusion,

"Katherine's _pregnant?!_ "

"She didn't tell you?" 

The wide eyes and quick shake of the head confirm that Katherine had definitely not told Bonnie that she was expecting.

And Caroline has a moment where she does a quick calculation in her head to reassure herself that they were past the first trimester, which, despite miscarriages almost being a thing of the past now, still carried the superstition.

So why had Katherine not told Bonnie? She'd told practically everyone else, seriously, the post lady knew even though they hadn't received letters for the better part of a year now.

But then she sees Bonnie's lips thin and colour creep up her cheeks,

"And the father is…?"

 _Oh right_.

"One of the spouses selected for breeding," Caroline answers, waving her hand to emphasise how little it mattered,

"Like the sperm donors of the old regime."

"Except that those sperm donors had a choice in the matter," Bonnie argued, "They weren't forcibly bred…"

"You've been here five minutes, Bonnie," Katherine declared as she entered the room, wrapping a silk dressing gown around her frame,

"At least wait an hour before you jump on your soap box."

Bonnie opened her mouth as if to speak but instead exhaled and fixed a smile on her face,

"You're right," she declared, "How are you Katherine? Congratulations on the baby."

She hugs her, but not as warmly as she had Caroline. Bonnie and Caroline had originally been Elena's friends, with Katherine occasionally socialising with them but not really a part of their group. It hadn't been until Elena had got her first pleasure spouse and moved to the other side of the country for college that the three of them had got to know each other better.

Now, Caroline didn't even remember the last time she had spoken to Elena, or if she even knew about the pregnancy- or cared- or if Bonnie planned to see her while she was visiting.

After all, she was on a limited visa.

"Should we go out for breakfast?" she suggested, "Katherine and I don't have to be at work until this afternoon."

Both women agree, and they leave Bonnie in the kitchen as they hurry upstairs to shower and change.

When Caroline emerges from her bedroom, rifling through her handbag for her keys, she finds Klaus loitering at the top of the staircase, his head tilted, and brow furrowed in confusion.

"You okay?" she asks, and he jumps, clearly not having heard her approach,

"Of course, sweetheart," he answers smiling, "Just wondering whether we should prepare Ms Bennet's room."

Pleasure-spouses didn't prepare rooms for visitors, or perform any role best left to housewives and Caroline is about to point that out to him when she hears the voices.

"I am happy for the privilege of serving Katherine," Elijah says in his usual placid tone, "It is an honour."

"To be used as a stud?" Bonnie argues, "You're barely treated better than an animal, worse even because animals were domesticated whereas your entire sex in this country was enslaved!"

Great.

Explained why Klaus had been hovering on the stairs, probably afraid to enter the kitchen and be subjected to the third-degree interrogation.

"Stay here until we leave," Caroline orders with a sigh, descending the stairs with her weight on the balls of her feet so that she would make as much noise as possible.

"Bonnie," she calls, walking into the kitchen, "Stop harassing Katherine's spouse."

She turns to face her, her eyes burning, "I'm not harassing him," she snaps, "Just trying to get his opinion on his forced breeding."

Caroline should have prepared note cards for this weekend, points to argue and rebut like she used to when she was on the debate team in college.

"Whatever you were doing," she replied, "It won't work, even if Elijah wasn't happy to be here…"

And it looks like he's about to interject except that spouses are forbidden from ever interrupting or speaking over women.

"That device, on his wrist," she points to it, "It activates recording when it hears key words such as _slave, forced_ , anything like that sends up alarm signals. First it would have notified the compliance department at the Factory and they would have started scanning his vital signs to make sure that this wasn't some sort of sex role-play, when they register that he's standing still, they would have run voice recognition software, to see if he was simply in the room while Katherine and I were speaking, when it didn't pick up our voices, it would have done a state-wide, then nation-wide search to determine who you were…"

"Long story short," Katherine interrupted as she came in from the living room, tapping Elijah on the hip and pointing up to send him to his room,

"I just got an email from Factory security warning me that a Ms Bonnie Sheila Bennett, was engaging in ' _questionable conversation_ ' with my brood-spouse."

She holds up her comm. Device, "Has everything here, including your occupation, address in Hawaii and the societies you belong to,"

It chimes again, and she checks the notification, "And now, Caroline and I have to attend a counselling session at the Factory later, with Elijah, to ensure that we aren't radicalizing him or ourselves, great."

She grimaces and pockets the device, "Well, let's do breakfast before some government agency comes knocking on our door."

Bonnie is gritting her teeth as she follows them to the car, "I'd heard about those controls," she finally says once they're pulling out of the driveway, "I'd hoped they were just a rumour, how are you two okay, with your conversations being recorded?"

Katherine rolls her eyes, but Caroline tries to soothe their friend's ire, "The devices only record when they pick up trigger words, and only if a crime is being committed, so why shouldn't we be okay? We're not criminals, we have nothing to hide."

"That's what everyone thinks right up until it's too late." Bonnie mutters but thankfully falls silent after that.

* * *

Klaus was alone in the house.

He smiled to himself as he ran that silly little line over and over again in his mind.

Klaus was alone in the house.

Pleasure-spouses weren't supposed to be alone in the house if it could be avoided, and in this case, it technically could have been.

Mistress Pierce and Caroline had to attend a meeting at the Factory while Elijah was examined to ensure that Ms Bennett's words hadn't radicalized him.

The anxiety of the impending meeting had nearly made him ill and Klaus had watched the stats on his controller rise with growing dread.

If Elijah threw up, he would either have to explain why or be accused of being so guilty that it made him ill.

Either way, he would be sent back to the Factory to be re-programmed before being sent on to another female.

And Klaus would probably never see him again.

What was worse, the stupid part of him, the part that stubbornly remembered the names of his siblings, that still found pleasure in art, had started to grow used to having his brother close by, had found comfort in their shared suffering and perhaps imagined a future where they'd lived together for another three or four months before being separated.

He was an _idiot_.

But he was alone in the house and would be spared the pain of watching his brother be taken away from him at least.

And he had a lifetime of training to bury his grief so deep within him that it would only ever be felt in his nightmares.

He presses his pencil to the paper, digging it in to imprint on the sheet. If he could not be marked, if he would not be outwardly changed, at least this thing before him would be…

Footsteps on wooden floorboards reach his ears, confusing him at first, because the housewife had already cleaned the male quarters and then concerning him.

This new housewife had seemed quiet and apathetic enough towards males that Elijah and Klaus had thought themselves safe, but what if she had heard about Anna and decided to retaliate?

If the house came to the attention of the Factory again…

He didn't want to go back to the windowless rooms and the afternoon 'training' sessions.

There's a knock on his door and now he's bewildered, a wild thought entering his mind.

What if Caroline had come home to tell him that Elijah had been sent back?

No, the door opens and the female who walks through isn't Caroline.

He's about to protest, to politely as possible warn her that males weren't allowed to have females who weren't their owners or part of the household in their rooms- or even in their quarters- but she holds a finger to her lips in an action he vaguely recognises from his childhood.

There is a device in her free hand and when it blinks green, she exhales,

"This jams transmissions from your controller to the Factory," she begins explaining, "You can speak freely."

Lies.

"Forgive me," he apologises, placidly, "Males do not speak freely past the age of ten, instead, we are taught conversation suited for female interests."

She jerks her chin, "Check if you don't believe me."

Cautiously, he takes his hands out from behind his back and checks his controller.

His stats were normal, even though the anxiety that he was feeling at having an unauthorised female in his room should have been showing up. His tongue darts out and wets his lips before he raises the controller to his mouth,

"Disobedience," he whispers, waiting for the light to flash yellow, "Revolution…freedom…patriarchy." 

No warning buzz, no light shock of electricity as consequence, no flash of red.

These words had been forbidden to him since he was taken away to the Factory, they could only be used in the context of discussing history and even then, used too often and the controller would flash yellow to remind him that he was a male and not allowed free thought or conversation.

The idea that he could speak them now…it was dizzying.

"What do you want?" he asks, lifting his head to meet this female's eyes, another act forbidden to him.

"To talk," she swears, "I got this," she holds up the device, "From my government, officially, I'm here on a tourist visa, visiting my friends while I still can, unofficially, I'm gathering information on how bad the situation has become here."

Klaus turns his face away as he chuckles, "Forgive me, but you sound like you've snuck into a warzone…only the war is long over, the armies are disbanded, and the new hierarchy is firmly established."

"We knew it was getting bad," Bonnie admits, "That the situation wasn't ideal, but there was peace, there was prosperity, it didn't look like any humanitarian disaster or dictatorship that had come before…and yes, we knew the men were losing their rights but _this_ …" she gestures to his wrist,

"How did this _happen_?"

He raises his eyebrows, "You're asking _me_? This happened before we were born, all I have ever known is a life where males are taken away at the age of ten and sent to the Factory, we are trained to be pleasing to females, obey orders and die. I had no part in the making of this world, I only try to survive in it."

"You could have a part in it now!" she protests, "Why aren't you resisting? Why aren't you fighting? There's _millions_ of you all over the country, you're in every house, every major city, you could rise up."

He laughs as he hadn't truly done since he was a child, "Resist?" he echoes, " _How?_ "

He points to the device in her hand, "You say that jams transmissions, I assume you plan to take it back with you? Which means my controller will begin working the moment you turn it off and I won't be able to stop you. But…say you somehow left it here, with me, then I could move freely throughout the house, without fear of being detected and…do _what_ exactly? I suppose I could fight back, I could kill my owner, kill Caroline, kill Katherine and the child growing inside her and then what? Unless that device can jam more than one controller at a time, Elijah's panic on discovering the bodies would alert the Factory, they'd be here within the hour."

"And say I ran away," he continued, "I would be the most hunted male in recent history, one who killed a female? They would go door to door looking for me, or any other blonde male who even vaguely resembled me would be dragged into the Factory and re-programmed. Say I somehow got through the barricaded city, and made my way to the national parks or the countryside, there's certainly plenty of land barely touched since the matriarchy took over, would you expect that to be my base of operations? A one-man resistance? Without supplies, without weapons? The walls at the Canadian and Mexican borders impenetrable?"

"You said we were in every house," he finishes, taking a moment to breathe, "And _that's_ the problem, we're in every house, monitored by our owners, by the authorities, by the controllers implanted in our wrists and by each other. The time to resist was generations ago, _before_ we were born, _before_ it got to this stage, now…unless Hawaii wants to build the movement itself…"

"We couldn't do that," Bonnie interrupted, shaking her head, "It would mean war, one we would lose because this country still has one of the largest armies in the world and we are a small nation, we would be destroyed."

"And what you're asking of me would mean my death, a senseless sacrifice made in vain."

His eyes dart to his controller and see that it's still displaying health stats typical of a calm, healthy male,

"Thank-you though," he smiles, "This is the first taste of freedom I've had in years and the first free words I've spoken since I was ten. I will remember this kindness."

Bonnie's eyes are downcast and her thumb hovers over the button on the device,

"My race was enslaved for four hundred years," she tells him, sniffing,

"We eventually were emancipated, but remember that, hold onto that hope."

Hope was for idiots.

But he wants her out of his room, he wants this conversation over, so he can go back to his drawing, bury his emotions and his dreams deep inside him again so that he's ready and willing to serve his mistress tonight.

"I will," he lies, as easily as blinking.

And three hours later, he's standing at the front door, with a placid smile that almost becomes authentic when he sees Elijah trailing obediently behind Mistress Pierce. 

* * *

A/N- Thank-you for reading!


End file.
